Reflective Striping Tape for Work and Utility Vehicles

Work vehicles or Utility Trucks are vehicles that make frequent stops as they service or create infrastructure. An example would be a power company truck, AT&T van, snow removal trucks, cable company trucks, etc… These vehicles are often stopped on the side of the road and if not seen can create a significant hazard. In Europe, standards have been significantly increased in recent years and that trend is slowly making its way to the United States. Some states such as Pennsylvania are already implementing requirements for state owned utility vehicles. The truck pictured above is an example of a Pennsylvania snow removal vehicles with chevron striping applied to the back.

For the vast majority of the country, utility truck marking is voluntary. Because of this, there are several ways to mark the vehicles. A common way is to use the same chevron pattern used by fire departments. (NFPA 1901) That method is pictured on the truck above and via the panels to the left. This method is very effective with the only downside being that utility trucks marked like fire apparatus can be easily mistaken for the latter. Some organizations have simply altered the color combination to differentiate their vehicles. For example, many ambulances will use a blue and fluorescent lime for chevrons. Also, AT&T uses fluorescent orange and lime for their vehicles. By doing this the vehicles are easily differentiated from fire trucks and can be easily identified as a particular type of utility vehicle.

The panels above and below could also be created using individual rolls cut on site or via custom cut reflective shapes.

It is not always necessary to use the chevron pattern. Utility companies such as AT&T are beginning to mark their trucks with a basic alternating pattern of fluorescent orange and lime reflective st. Studies in Canada and Europe have shown this combination to be very effective in improving visibility day and night. Reflexite V98 conformable prismatic tape works very well for this application. It is available in several widths. Color choices are white, blue, red and fluorescent lime. Fluorescent Orange is being added very soon.

Our three most popular colors for work zone conspicuity treatments are fluorescent orange, fluorescent lime and red. They are pictured below.

The panel pictured above and below is very popular and can be done in different colors. We can do 4″ and 6″ widths and any length. Colors combinations are white with red, white with orange, fluorescent lime with red and fluorescent lime with orange.

The panel on the left is one of our 6 foot long by 16 inch tall reflective chevron panels. (It is shown vertical) These are self adhesive panels created using Reflexite V98 material. The material is prismatic and exceeds all requirements for reflective tape on work trucks as well as fire apparatus. We carry a variety of chevron panels in different sizes at www.chevronpanels.com. This includes the orange and fluorescent lime panels pictured above.